Fireproof wire.



No. 809,311. PATENTED JAN. 9, 1906.

A. M. LOUGEE.

FIREPROOF WIRE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 5. 1903.

NITEI) STATES AMANDA M. LOUGEE, OF BOSTGN, MASSACHUSETTS.

FIREPROOF WIFEEI Specification of Letters Fatent.

Patented Jan. 9, 1906.

Application filed November 5,1903. Serial No=179,929.

To all whom it mja/,zj concern/.j

Beit known that I, AMANDA M. LoUenn, a citizen of the United States,residing in Boston, county of Suolk, State of Massachusetts, haveinvented an Improvement in Fireproof Wire, of which the followingdescription, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is aspecification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention is manufactured as a single article to take the place ofthe hitherto usually separated insulated electric wire and conduit, andhas for its objects the provision of great durability, fiexibility,simplicity, and cheapness of manufacture, high insulating and fireproofand preferably waterproof character, besides other objects oradvantages,V

such as being unrestricted as to length in manufacture, &c., all as willappear more at length from the following description.

My invention will be more readily apprehended if it is borne in mindthat the present custom in the trade is to provide a separate conduit toreceive the conducting-wire, the latter usually being fished through ina laborious and expensive manner, resulting frequently in kinks or otherdefects4 in the wire itself, leading to possible short-circuiting andother disaster, while also the fishing process frequently tears out thepaper or other lining in the conduit and pulls off the covering of thewire and at best is expensive in labor, apparatus, and product, preventsperfect insulation, is limited as to the length of the conduit, &c.; andaccordingly it is the object of my invention to avoid all the abovedisadvantages and secure various additional advantages by constructingas a whole a conductor-wire (which may be of the usual insulated kindcommonly found in the market) having a fireproof covering of asbestos orequivalent substance incased in 4a flexible armor or protector andsecured integrally or non-detachably together and capable of use withthe same convenience of application as a simple Wire, while at the sametime meeting the requirements of the fire underwriters as to fireproof,waterproof, insulating, and other qualities.

Without discussing the invention in a preliminary way further at thispoint reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings, where I have showna preferred embodiment of the invention, the latter being moreparticularly defined in the appended claims, taken in connection withthe following description.

In the drawings, Figure l is a view in side elevation, parts beingbroken away for convenience of illustration. Fig. 2 is a similar viewshowing a modification.

In the drawings I have shown a medium size of my "single-article device,(as it may be called to designate one of its distinguishing'characteristics,) and in Fig. l I have shown the same bent forindicating the extreme pliability and in its preferred form permanenceof pliability of theY article, which may readily be bent around a corneror follow any particular configuration required by external or internaluse. By my invention I provide in a single article an armor-conduitcontaining an insulated fireproof, &c., conductor capable of internaland external use in all the positions which have heretofore required theusual lead or iron pipes in which the speciallyprepared wires have beenfished or inserted, or,in other words, this single article meets in andof itself all the requirements which have heretofore called forlaborious and expensive separate constructions, difficult labor, andimperfect results when combined. The article just as it is shown in Fig.l is ever ready to be simply put in place wherever desired, either forinterior or exterior work, and at once meets all the requirements of thefire underwriters as to indestructible character of armor,moisture-proof character, fireproof and durable qualities, permanence ofposition, resistance to the attacks of the elements, mice, fire, orabrasion, &c.

Referring more particularly to the construction, it will be seen that atthe center is any usual or preferred kind of wire or conductor a,preferably of the ordinary insulated kind, covered with rubber compoundb and fabric covering or other protector on which is woven or otherwisepermanently secured in the process of manufacture a fireproof jacket o,preferably of asbestos. An armor or reinforcing covering CZ is securedon the asbestos by any suitable means, preferably by cement e, which mayhave an insulating character, such as a rubber compound, the cement alsopreferably permeating the meshes of the armor Z when the latter' 'has anopenwork character, and the whole is then coated, preferably with afireproof compound f, which may be fireproof paint. I make no claim toany of the substances used nor to their arrangement with relation toeach other considered alone, but wish it understood that my inventionresides rather in providing the fire- IOO IOS

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@a unal proof-wire construction explained as an integral whole or singlearticle of manufacture.

The. various portions may be applied by any usual or preferred machineryor other method-as, for example, the coverings I) c e may be applied inplastic or partially plastic condition. rIhe woven portions 7) (and cwhen applied as a woven covering) and d are woven directly in place asthe manufacture proceeds, so that the article may be produced of anylength desired and when iinished presents a solid composite appearanceas distinguished from detachable members. Also the weaving proceeds in aspiral or oblique manner, as shown, thereby giving greater iiexibilityand tending to maintain the parts in a compact and substantially solidrelation mechanically in addition to the cementitious and other bindingelements employed.

Various portions of the article may be omitted, and instead of some ofthe portions others may be used. For instance, in Fig. 2 I have omittedthe cement layer e and have shown a metal jacket or armor CZ instead ofthe wovenwire armor d, this covering d being applied in any mannerdesiredas, for instance, the tube may be immersed or passed throughmolten metal, or the latter may be deposited electrically or may be madein any metallic form that will have iiexibility, the idea being' to havea thin flexible protector capable of withstanding abrasion, Sac., and ofmeeting the various requirements of the ire underwriters.

I prefer the closely-woven-wire armor d, as it is capable of repeatedbending' without injury, can be woven very tightly in place, isextremely durable, and is sufiiciently rough to embed itself in thecement or asbestos or whatever may be beneath it, and offers anexcellent surface for retaining the outer coating of the enamel,iireproof paint, rubber, &c., which may be applied as an external iinishand protector. Moreover, this armor of closelywoven wire cooperatingwith the interior construction entirely prevents danger from flaming'dre therefrom, as it holds the insulation in a smothering grip. Anotherimportant advantage resulting from the close binding in ofthe conductorand the inclosed layers is that the swelling and bursting of theinsulation are prevented and the conductor-wiie is held intact as aconductor even under great heat, and likewise longitudinal strain on theinsulation is prevented, tending to cause gaps therein and to render theinsulation porous. In the usual insulated wire disastrous results areproduced by the combination of two strains, an outward strain and alengthwise strain, which are due to heat, bending, &c., these strainstogether resulting in the rapid deterioration of the insulation,covering, &c., whereas in my construction the closely-woven armor holdseverything in undisturbed position, preventing both stretching andbulging',

and hence preventing the weakening and perforation ofthe insulation, andalso preventing the ductile copper wire changing' size, and hence itsresistance, when highly-heated by an overload. The woven-wire jacket orarmor also provides an eflicient conductor for a return-current,especially when insulated on both sides. This outer coatingfl may be ofany color to suit the situation where the insulated [ireproof wire isused, thereby rendering it feasible to run this wire both inside andoutside a wall, along cornices, and, in fact, wherever convenience maysuggest,as it can readily be painted to correspond to the adjacentsurface, and as the entire article is small compared with theconstructions commonly employed heretofore) and capable of being bent toany shape its neatness, artistic effect, and universal adaptability willbe apparent.

l/Vhen asbestos is used as the main lireproofing element, I prefer toemploy the cement layer e, as explained, thereby incasing the asbestosin such a manner that it cannot yield to its tendency to absorbmoisture, and in general I prefer to employ a waterproof layer or layersat or adjacent to the external covering of the article.

.In addition to the non-separable unitary character given to the articleas a whole by the mechanical process of weaving and molding the layersin place l. intend to use in certain embodiments of my inventioncementitious substances or compounds between or contained in the variouslayers for rendering them more permanently and solidly united and forrendering the conduit-wire as nearly homogeneous as its generalstructure will permit.

It will readily be seen without further explanation that bymanufacturing the entire article as a whole instead of preparing itsparts to be placed on the market separately not only is there a greatsaving of labor, &e., but it may be made of any indefinite lengthrequired, all inconvenience, danger, and enpense of fishing the interiorportions into or through an external tube or enveloping portion areavoided, there are no intervening spaces (as there are in the ease ofseparate wire and conduit fished together) for the collection ofmoisture, air, zc., which under the influence of the electric currentwould tend rapidly to deteriorate and break down the entire structure,and the general construction is such that extreme flexibility,permanence, and durability are secured.

As already intimated, I do not limit my invention to the precise detailsset forth, as many variations may be resorted to without departing fromthe spirit and scope of my invention, and also while I have mentioneddefinite substances and parts I intend my claims to include the variousmechanical and chemical equivalents thereof when said substances andparts are mentioned.

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gether by adhesion, said parts including a Wire, a ireproof jacket forthe Wire, a Waterproof covering for said jacket, and a tightly-Woven-Wire covering provided internally and externally With a Waterproofand fireproof covering of insulation.

2. As an article of manufacture, a permanently-tlexible armored.electric conductor of indeterminate length having an external sizeadapted to the usual requirements of ofiicebuildings, and having itscomponent parts held integrally and permanently together by adhesion,said parts including a Wire, an asbestos jacket for the Wire renderedmoisture-prooiby an enveloping coating of cement, inclosed by atightly-Woven jacket of Wire embedded on both sides in Waterprooi` andreproof insulation.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscrlbing witnesses.

AMANDA M. LOUGEE. Witnesses:

M. E. CAI-HLL, C. J. DoNLAN.

